The Region of Central Macedonia has a total area of 18.811 square kilometers and consists of seven regional units: Imathia, Thessaloniki, Kilkis, Pella, Pieria, Serres, and Halkidiki.It borders north with two Balkan countries, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The Central Macedonia is the main road and railway gate to Balkans. The Region is linked with neighboring countries by modern Motorway (Pathe, Egnatia) railway, airport “Macedonia” and the port of Thessaloniki.The Region of Central Macedonia has approximately 1.9 million inhabitants, according to provisional results of Census 2011 and ranks second in terms of population among the 13 Regions of the country (covering 17.1% of total population). The rural population accounts for 26% of the total population.
Governor: Mr Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions & President of the Union of Greek Regional Authorities.
Website: https://www.pkm.gov.gr/ https://visit-centralmacedonia.gr/
The Regional Development Fund of Central Macedonia (RDFCM) is a body governed by public law created in 1994 according to the Law 2218/94. The Fund's role was reviewed in 2011 by the Law 3852/2010 that introduced the New Architecture in Local Governance in Greece and from that year on the Fund is under the jurisdiction of the Region of Central Macedonia. The RDCM’s role is to ensure growth, prosperity and extroversion for the citizens of the region. The RDFCM’s primary purpose is to provide technical assistance and support to the Region of Central Macedonia, thought studies, researches and implementation of programs which are assigned by the Region to the Fund for more efficient use of resources. The RDFCM promotes international cooperation through a variety of European co-funded projects for the Environment, Agri-Food, Tourism, Culture, Mobility, Citizens and Entrepreneurship by leading or participating as a partner.
Website: https://rdfcm.gr/
The Network of European Regions for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ERIAFF) is an informal association of regional Authorities that was established in 2012 in Florence (Tuscany, Italy).The Network is currently participated by 50 member Regions and 38 observers from 21 European countries. ERIAFF allows its members to work on themes of common interest and has established a number of thematic working groups which are coordinated by the most committed members. The participation to the Network and its Working Groups is free and based on a voluntary commitment.
Main objectives
Website: http://www.eriaff.com/
EIT Food is Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted. EIT Food is on a mission to build an inclusive and innovative community where the consumer is actively involved.
This is achieved through our six strategic objectives:
Website: https://www.eitfood.eu/
The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. The Network is active worldwide. It brings together experts from member organisations that are renowned for their excellence in business support.
Member organizations include:
Individual businesses can’t become Network members, but they can enjoy the many services offered.
Website: https://www.een.gr/en
Industry Disruptors Game Changers (IDGC) is an independent non profit organization established with the vision to create an extrovert ecosystem that fosters innovative entrepreneurship on a global scale. We deliver this through initiatives that empower mission driven innovators to create scalable companies & bring them in effective partnership with investors, industry leaders & key stakeholders creating an impactful ecosystem. Among our landmark initiatives are: Future Agro Challenge (FAC), a leading global platform that discovers, supports and connects fundable ventures in agrifood innovation from farm to fork, Beyond Expo, the first international stage for the tech Industry in South Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the MENA region, the Agrination Startup Cup, a regionally focused initiative funded by the FAO of the United Nations, and are partners in the ‘Smart Agro Hub Competence Centre’, a consortium of 15 companies led by the Agricultural University of Athens. Since 2012 IDGC have achieved organic growth to over 64 countries across 5 continents.
IDGC serves as the EIT Food Hub in Greece. The Hub belongs to the EIT Food South, that promotes innovation in the field of food and agricultural technology. In this framework we have been actively supporting the wider system of innovation, prioritizing the creation of an outward-looking ecosystem in the agri-food sector and have undertaken a strategic plan to engage the ecosystem partners using EIT food programs. Over the last 5 years students, young agripreneurs, startuppers, companies, scientists and key stakeholders have participated in our programs, that include innovation competitions & Prizes, events, workshops & training courses, women empowerment and other agrifood related programs, while the participants of our competitions have claimed and received cash prizes, as well as support and networking opportunities with an international ecosystem.
Website: http://industrydisruptors.org/
Nefertiti project is a unique Network (selected for 4 years under Horizon 2020, Societal Challenge 2, RUR 12-2017 call) comprising 32 partners from 17 countries and coordinated by ACTA, the head of Network of the French Agricultural Technical Institutes. The overall objective of NEFERTITI is to establish an EU-wide highly connected network of demonstration and pilot farms designed to enhance knowledge exchanges, cross fertilization among actors and efficient innovation uptake in the farming sector through peer-to-peer demonstration of techniques on 10 major agricultural challenges in Europe.
Website: https://nefertiti-h2020.eu/